Ontario dates to 1883, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 39% of U.S. towns · #67 of 142 in Oregon. What drives it
Most of Ontario was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Its Register listings are the Oregon Short Line Railroad Depot and the James Rowley and Mary J. Blackaby House. Its Register listings are the Oregon Short Line Railroad Depot and the James Rowley and Mary J. Blackaby House. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1884.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ontario’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ontario is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #67 of 142 in Oregon. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ontario’s overall grade.
Oregon towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Oregon town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Ontario’s 2.5 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Oregon towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1883.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Ontario’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Ontario was founded on June 11, 1883, by developers William Morfitt, Mary Richardson, Daniel Smith, and James Virtue. In March 1884, Richard Welch started a post office for the quarter of Ontario, so named by James Virtue after Ontario, Canada. Two months later Joseph Morton applied for a Morton post office at an island about one mile south of town, with Oscar Scott as postmaster. Unfortunately for Morton and Scott, merchants Morfitt and Richardson of Malheur City, gold miner Virtue, and lumberman Smith of Baker City acquired more land and were better financed. More importantly, Morfitt had negotiated a train depot for Ontario. All the settlers and speculators knew the railroad was coming and how important that would be to Ontario's future so Scott closed his Morton post office and built a hotel at present-day Ontario. By December 1884, Scott was Ontario's postmaster.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ontario. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1951Payette sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Ontario.
Every building
Ontario, building by building, 1900–1911
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1883, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Ontario’s post office opened in 1884, and the census of 1890 counted 200 people here.
How does Ontario rank for history?
Ontario is more historic than 39% of U.S. towns, #67 of 142 in Oregon. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Ontario?
Two places: the Oregon Short Line Railroad Depot (listed 1999) and the James Rowley and Mary J. Blackaby House (2001).
How old are the homes in Ontario?
7% of Ontario’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 5.3% for an Oregon town; the median home was built in 1978.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1908
1941
1941
1941
